Hello,
Two years ago I was diagnosed with leukoplakia. At the time, the biopsy revealed on mild dysplasia. Recently, my ENT doctor determined that it was time to remove the patch. I am scheduled for an outpatient excision of the patch in a month. I am a teacher and I am terrified of if I will be able to talk normally and of the possible results. I am hoping that someone out there can give me some more information or tips on what to expect from this surgery, the recovery, and just easing my anxiety and stress.

Thank you in advance!

Good thing you are getting it removed. Not to make you think it could happen to you, leukoplakia does not always turn into cancer (I was told 1% do), but mine did. I had it along the right side of my tongue for 3 years. I finally developed a sore that wouldn't go away. A biopsy said squamous cell carcinoma. I had the surgery to remove it in February, partial glossectomy. I thought I might need speech therapy but did not. There was quite a bit of swelling and of course pain, I was on liquids only for about a week then tried more soft foods for a while. Honestly it wasn't that bad. I used a speech app at home for less than a week then I could talk pretty normally. For a while after that my tongue would get tired if I talked too much. You may want to take two weeks or so off of work depending how you feel. My tongue does not feel the same and it isn't as mobile as before but I have no problem with my speech, I sound the same and have no problem talking normally. Pretty much two weeks and you should be almost back to normal. Good luck to you!

I have two weeks scheduled off after the surgery. What speech app did you use? Thank you for your reply- although nervous, I know it needs to be done.

Welcome to OCF, Sara! Most of our members have not had leukoplakia or dysplasia so it may take a little while to get replies to your posts. Im glad Denise has reached out to you! Hopefully your dysplasia will not change (luckily, most do NOT!) into anything more serious. Many who have dysplasia have reported it frequently does return after its been surgically removed. I wanted to let you know that so you didnt panic if it returned. Theres probably a difference in surgeries for your exact situation and for patients who are having cancer removed. Removing a cancerous tumor is probably much more invasive.

I had a friend who always used the "Speak It" app on her ipad after her total glossectomy. It worked great as she would type whatever she had to say and it would talk for her. This was especially helpful when she needed to make phone calls to businesses where they didnt know of her situation. Im sure theres many other apps now that will be a big help for you.

Best wishes with your upcoming surgery!!!

Thank you, Christine. I think I don't know the questions to ask the doctors as I didn't realize that about dysplasia. These responses are helping me immensely and I am very grateful for the input. Have a great day!

I used Text to Speech app. Had fun changing the accent, lol!

Denise- you gave me something to smile about. I will have fun with the app as well. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your responses. They have made a very stressful time less stressful.

Good! I hope it all goes smoothly for you!